Hillcrest Hospital 'tops out' expansion

Jacob Lammers/JLammers@News-Herald.comHillcrest Hospital officials held a Òtopping outÓ ceremony Wednesday afternoon as construction crews laid the last steel beam for the new $163 million bed tower expansion at the facility in Mayfield Heights.

All eyes locked onto the peak of Hillcrest Hospital's new expansion Wednesday afternoon.

As the final steel beam -- decorated with an American flag and pine tree -- was secured onto the bed tower, a raucous applause erupted across the street from the Mayfield Heights hospital.

Ground was broken on the $163 million expansion project last year, and Hillcrest Hospital President Jeffrey A. Leimgruber said the facility, upon completion, will be a great asset for incoming patients.

"This investment will mean better care for our patients," Leimgruber said in front of a crowd of hospital administrators, employees and guests.

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"It will allow us to attract the very best medical professionals -- expand the boundaries of medical miracles right here in our own community."

The new bed tower will include 72 private rooms and new surgical suites. The entire project is scheduled to be completed by fall 2010.

"We're halfway through the project. This is exciting," Leimgruber said. "This is something Hillcrest has been waiting on for a long time."

The expansion comes none too soon as the hospital has experienced an increasing number of patients during the last several years, said Dr. Ronald J. Ross, chairman of the executive committee of the board of trustees of the East Region Hospitals of the Cleveland Clinic Health System.

"To continue to meet this end, it was critical that we proactively develop adequate facilities, technology and increases in professional staff.

"As the completion of our project draws near, this achievement reaffirms our position as a health care leader in our community," Ross said as an ambulance with sirens blaring pulled into Hillcrest Hospital.

"That's perfect, perfect," adding that the ambulance emphasized his point.

In addition to the bed tower, the expansion includes a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, treating babies born as early as 22 weeks. An emergency department also will be constructed with double the current one's capacity as well as private rooms for patients.

Leimgruber said the rooms will include the latest technology such as electronic medical records, high-tech equipment and Internet access.

As the structure has risen from the ground up, Cleveland Clinic Regional Hospitals President and CEO Fred M. DeGrandis pointed to the tangible excitement that has been building in the community.

"I think the excitement is about the impact this project has had on this local economy in what has been difficult times for our greater Cleveland community. The amount of families supported by what you see across the street," said DeGrandis, pointing toward the bed tower, "gets us all excited for this hope for the future."

The expansion is expected to produce a long-term economic boost with more than 100 jobs with associated annual payroll taxes of more than $1 million.

Earlier in the ceremony, construction crews unveiled a banner on the bed tower, naming it the Jane and Lee Seidman Tower. The pair has donated $6 million -- the single largest donation in the history of the hospital -- to the project.

"This $6 million was kind of easy," said Lee Seidman, a lifelong Cleveland resident, "because six of my grandchildren were all born here at Hillcrest. So that's a million apiece ... That's easy math."

Lee Seidman, whose family donated $23 million to the Cleveland Clinic, said the money was justified because the hospital is so prestigious.

"In Ohio, No. 1 for 13 different disciplines. (In the) U.S., in 11 of 13 (disciplines), (Cleveland) Clinic is either (ranked) sixth or better, and I think that's important."

DeGrandis said he's hopeful that a great deal of care and healing will take place at the new facility.

"Their generosity is a true benefit to this community," he said. "We are very appreciative of their unwavering kindness and we plan to utilize their gift to enhance the excellent care we provide at Hillcrest Hospital."

The expansion is something the entire hospital can be proud of, DeGrandis said.

"We're all a part of this," DeGrandis said. "It's been our effort, it's been our perseverance and it's been our good will to make this a reality."